Molecular profile or molecular testing

Dr. Powell is identifying and characterizing molecular changes that are important in lung adenocarcinoma differentiation (changes in cancer cell shape and size) and invasiveness (ability to spread to other parts of the body). His long-term goal is to use these biomarkers to facilitate early diagnosis, refine prognostic assessment, and develop new therapeutic targets for lung cancer treatment and prevention.

Dr. Nana-Sinkam is delineating the role of microRNA expression profiling in the diagnosis, management, and prognosis of lung cancer. He is testing whether microRNA expression profiles are detectable in the  blood of lung cancer patients. He will compare individuals with lung cancer with current and former smokers without lung cancer.

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is active in both small cell and non-small cell lung cancer and provides a “don’t stop growing” signal to cancer cells. Dr. Robbins is working to identify and validate a panel of biomarkers that can be used to determine whether the lung cancer is sensitive to drugs that stop Hh signaling.

Dr. Shofer’s research builds on work of earlier investigators who developed a lung cancer risk signature based on genetic changes in lung cells in smokers. Dr. Shofer hypothesizes that the lung cancer risk signature model is an indicator of how lung cells change during the process of cancer development. Should his hypothesis be correct, the lung cancer risk signature could be established as a sensitive biomarker capable of diagnosing patients with lung cancer by checking cells taken from the throat using a swab.

Dr. Borgia is working to develop new biomarkers to strengthen the capabilities of the existing blood test for identifying the presence of metastatic progress in non-small cell lung cancer that he has developed. He plans to adapt the blood test to a diagnostic card format so that high-risk individuals can put blood droplets on diagnostic cards at home and mail them to a test facility where the blood will be extracted and tested for the biomarkers in the panel.

Dr. Yendamuri is conducting a clinical trial among stage-1 non-small cell lung cancer patients to confirm a microRNA signature for the prediction of the recurrence of lung cancer after surgery. He then will develop a blood-based microRNA profile for the detection of lung cancer recurrence.

The CHFR gene is a gene that has undergone changes in its DNA. Dr. Brandes is studying how the CHFR gene predicts a non-small cell lung cancer patient’s response to chemotherapy.

Dr. Bennett is evaluating potential biomarkers for their use in identifying lung cancer patients by comparing blood samples taken from patients with lung cancer and from patients without lung cancer. His goal is to build a panel of biomarkers that will aid in diagnosis.

Dr. Borgia is developing a process based on biomarkers derived from tissue and clinical factors such as age, smoking history, histology, and stage of diagnosis of lung cancer. This process will identify which patients with advanced-stage lung cancer will respond to medical treatment and thus qualify for surgery that potentially could cure the cancer.

Dr. Sittampalam is determining whether circulating tumor cells can be a useful blood-based tumor marker in untreated patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer who are planning to receive chemotherapy. He is also exploring the feasibility of genomic profiling using circulating tumor cells.